HORMONE THERAPY:

1. Why do you use the term "Hormone Balancing Therapy" instead of the common term "Hormone Replacement Therapy" (HRT)?I am doing much more than merely replacing hormones. I am not just throwing a hormone at you, hoping you feel satisfied and thinking that is enough. This practice is mainly guesswork; it frequently makes the patient feel worse or no better, and it is often not the safest way to go. Balancing hormones requires an understanding and appreciation of how hormones can diminish or increase the effects of other hormones.

2. What does it mean when you say hormones can oppose one another?

The most common example, by far, is progesterone's ability to reduce the bad effects of too much estrogen. When a woman has normal or excess estrogen without enough progesterone to balance or oppose the estrogen, the breast tissue, for example, can become overly sensitive to this estrogen dominance such that it requires less and less estrogen over time to create this same effect.

3. Is this dangerous?

It's just not healthy because it can lead to PMS, irregular menstrual cycles, heavy bleeding, uterine fibroids, even breast cancer. This estrogen-dominance problem is one of the most unresolved risks that I see in girls and women.

4. Can you give another example of this?

Every day I see women who have had their uteruses removed and often their ovaries, too. The lab tests I order reveal estrogen dominance in most cases. They often believe they don't need progesterone because they no longer have a uterus. Progesterone has other health-giving benefits besides supporting the uterine lining. It helps the nervous system in particular (including the mind); it helps keep estrogen safer; and it helps prevent symptoms of excess estrogen like PMS. Back